Fundus camera and control method for the fundus camera

ABSTRACT

An apparatus including an illumination unit for illuminating an eye to be inspected with light from an observation light source or light from a photographing light source; an photographing unit for guiding reflected light from the eye to an photographing element, to record an image thereof; a calculation unit for calculating an appropriate observation or photographing light intensity based on an illumination light intensity of the illumination unit and an image signal of the photographing element; an automatic light intensity adjustment unit for causing one of the observation and photographing light sources to emit light at the calculated light intensity; and a control unit for controlling the adjustment unit according to a selected one of a mode of acquiring the fundus image and a mode of acquiring the anterior ocular image.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fundus camera for use in taking afundus image in group medical examination or the like, a control methodfor the fundus camera, and a program for executing the control method.

2. Description of the Related Art

In taking a fundus image of a subject by a general fundus camera,individual differences in light reflectance of the fundus need to beconsidered. Obtaining a uniform fundus image thus requires that theemission intensity of a light source be adjusted while observing thefundus. This method, however, takes time to perform photographing orphotographing per subject, and is not suitable for group medicalexamination or other similar situations.

In light of the above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2003-116793 discloses a fundus camera having an automatic lightintensity adjustment function, in which an appropriate emissionintensity for photographing or photographing is calculated for lightemission based on an observation light intensity, the gain of an imagesignal during observation, and the gain of an image signal duringphotographing.

Further, some fundus cameras can perform anterior ocular photographingto acquire an image of a peripheral part or iris of an eye to beinspected.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-277184 discloses a funduscamera which uses an auxiliary lens to perform switching between afundus mode and an anterior ocular mode.

A general fundus camera has an anterior ocular observation mode ofobserving the anterior ocular segment of the eye to be inspected inorder to perform rough alignment to align a center part of the eye ballwith an optical axis, and a fundus mode of observing the fundus portionof the eye to be inspected in order to perform alignment to adjust theeye ball position and the focus position more finely. Obtaining a goodfundus image needs observation and adjustment of a photographing lightintensity during the alignment. Light reflectance at the fundus portionis, however, different among persons, which needs manual adjustment ofthe light intensity for each photographing, thus leading to lengtheningof inspection time.

In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.2003-116793, the emission intensity for photographing is calculatedbased on the light intensity and the image signal during observation.Accordingly, when an acquired image greatly changes, such as at the timeof switching from anterior ocular observation to fundus observation,there is a large difference between the light intensity calculated forthe anterior ocular observation and a necessary light intensity forfundus photographing. Therefore, calculation of the light intensity maytake time.

Further, as described above, some fundus cameras, including the onedisclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-277184, havean anterior ocular photographing mode which enables photographing of theanterior ocular segment of the eye to be inspected.

In the anterior ocular photographing mode, in consideration of theburden on a subject and the influence on the pupil, a method ofillumination with invisible near-infrared light is used in observationfor performing alignment. However, in the case of using the automaticlight intensity adjustment function which uses an image signal of animage of the anterior ocular segment irradiated with near-infraredlight, an appropriate light intensity for photographing with visiblelight cannot be obtained because reflectance of the iris portion greatlydiffers between visible light and near-infrared light among racialgroups.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a funduscamera, which is provided with a function capable of controllingautomatic light intensity adjustment according to a mode of observationor photographing, to thereby control the automatic light intensityadjustment function according to the mode so that a fundus image withgood brightness may be obtained in a short period of time.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a fundus camera forphotographing a fundus portion of an eye to be inspected according to anaspect of the present invention includes: an illumination unit includingan observation light source for emitting observation light forilluminating the eye to be inspected, and an photographing light sourceseparate from the observation light source, for emitting photographinglight for photographing the eye to be inspected, the illumination unitbeing configured to illuminate the eye to be inspected with one of theobservation light and the photographing light; a photographing unit forperforming one of observation and photographing of an image of the eyeto be inspected by using a photographing element, the photographingelement being configured to output an image signal by receivingreflected light from the eye to be inspected, the reflected lightresulting from the one of the observation light and the photographinglight projected by the illumination unit; a calculation unit forexecuting calculation of one of an appropriate observation lightintensity and an appropriate photographing light intensity based on anillumination light intensity of the illumination unit and the imagesignal of the photographing element; an automatic light intensityadjustment unit for causing one of the observation light source and thephotographing light source to emit light at the light intensitydetermined by the calculation unit; and a light intensity adjustmentcontrol unit having a fundus mode of performing one of observation andphotographing of the fundus portion of the eye to be inspected, and ananterior ocular mode of performing one of observation and photographingof an anterior ocular segment of the eye to be inspected, the lightintensity adjustment control unit being configured to control theautomatic light intensity adjustment unit according to the mode inquestion.

According to the present invention, the automatic light intensityadjustment function is controlled according to the mode of observationor photographing so that a preferred image of an eye to be inspected maybe obtained in a short period of time.

In other words, the fundus camera employing the present invention iscapable of obtaining a preferred image of the eye to be inspected in ashort period of time, thus enabling photographing with a reduced burdenon a subject.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a fundus camera according to afirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the fundus cameraaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a fundus camera according to asecond embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the fundus cameraaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the anterior ocular segment of an eyeto be inspected.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a fundus cameraaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

In the following, a fundus camera having a fundus mode, an anteriorocular observation mode, and an anterior ocular photographing mode isdescribed as an example.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to a first embodiment inwhich the present invention is applied to the fundus camera.

An objective lens 1 is disposed to oppose an eye E to be inspected. Onan optical axis (path) L_(H) of the objective lens 1, there are providedan image-forming lens 2, an anterior ocular observing lens 3 that isinsertable and retreatable to and from the optical axis L_(H), a dioptercorrection lens 4 that is similarly insertable and retreatable to andfrom the optical axis L_(H), and a photographing element 5 havingsensitivity to visible light and infrared light. In addition, at asubstantially peripheral portion of the objective lens 1, an anteriorocular illumination infrared LED 6 for irradiating the anterior ocularsegment of the eye E to be inspected, in particular a peripheral regionof the anterior ocular segment, is provided. Further, on the sameoptical axis L_(H), an perforated mirror 7 is diagonally provided.

The anterior ocular illumination infrared LED 6 works as an anteriorocular observation light source of the present invention, and emitsanterior ocular observation light to illuminate mainly the anteriorocular segment of the eye E to be inspected.

The components from the objective lens 1 to the image-forming lens 2together constitute an observation optical system. The observationoptical system and the photographing element 5 together constitute anobserving and photographing unit. The photographing element 5 receiveslight which is projected by an illumination unit to be described laterand the like, namely reflected light which is reflected from the eye Eto be inspected. The photographing element 5 then generates and outputsan image signal.

On an optical axis (path) L_(V) of the perforated mirror 7 in areflection direction, a lens 8, a lens 9, and a condenser lens 10 areprovided. In addition, on the same optical axis L_(V), a photographingwhite LED 11 and an observing infrared LED 12 are provided so as to beswitchable.

The components from the objective lens 1 to the condenser lens 10together constitute an illumination optical system. The illuminationoptical system, the photographing white LED 11 as a photographing lightsource, and the observing infrared LED 12 as an observation light sourcetogether constitute the illumination unit. The photographing white LED11 emits photographing light for photographing the eye E to be inspectedto illuminate the eye E to be inspected. The observing infrared LED 12emits observation light for observing the eye E to be inspected toilluminate the eye E to be inspected.

The above-mentioned observing and photographing unit and theillumination unit together constitute a fundus camera optical portion.The fundus camera optical portion is placed on a slide table (notshown), enabling alignment with the eye E to be inspected.

An output of the photographing element 5 is converted into a digitalsignal by an A/D converter element 14. The digital signal is stored in amemory 15 and also connected to a photometry value calculation unit 16.The memory 15 and the photometry value calculation unit 16 are bothconnected to a control unit (device) 23 for controlling the entireapparatus. The control unit 23 is connected to an image memory 25, and astill image imaged by the photographing element 5 is stored therein as adigital image.

The photographing element 5, the A/D converter element 14, the memory15, and the photometry value calculation unit 16 as well as a monitor 13for displaying an infrared observed image and a visible image which areimaged by the photographing element 5 and a photographing unit controlportion 17 together constitute an photographing unit. In addition, thephotographing unit is fixed to a housing of the fundus camera opticalportion via a mount portion (not shown) in a detachable manner.

Movement of the fundus camera is controlled by the control device 23.

The anterior ocular observing lens 3 is inserted and retreated to andfrom the optical path L_(H) by an anterior ocular observing lens controlunit 18 connected to the control device 23. Further, whether or not thediopter correction lens 4 is present on the optical path L_(H) is judgedby a diopter correction lens position detection unit 19 connected to thecontrol device 23.

The photographing white LED 11 and the observing infrared LED 12 areconnected to a light source switching unit 28. Which of the lightsources is to be disposed on the optical path L_(V) is switched by thecontrol unit 23.

A light intensity adjustment control unit 24 is controlled by thecontrol device 23 and performs selection of a light source and selectionof a calculation method. A light intensity calculation unit 27 as acalculation unit of the present invention calculates an emissionintensity according to a photometry value obtained by the photometryvalue calculation unit 16 and the light source and the calculationmethod selected by the light intensity adjustment control unit 24. Inother words, the light intensity calculation unit 27 is capable ofswitching the calculation contents, the calculation method, and the likeaccording to a mode of the light intensity adjustment control unit 24 tobe described later, and can be defined as including a calculationswitching unit for performing the switching.

A photographing white LED light intensity control unit 20, an observinginfrared LED light intensity control unit 21, and an anterior ocularobserving infrared LED light intensity control unit 22 cause thephotographing white LED 11, the observing infrared LED 12, and theanterior ocular illumination infrared LED 6 to emit light at the lightintensities calculated by the light intensity calculation unit 27,respectively.

A photographing switch 26 is connected to the control device 23. Whenthe photographing switch 26 is operated, the above-mentioned controlunit causes the respective LEDs as the light source units to emit lightat the calculated light intensities so that the observing andphotographing unit images an image of the eye to be inspected, which isthen recorded.

Next, an actual action of the fundus camera to which the presentinvention is applied when the automatic light intensity adjustment unitis enabled and used in the fundus mode while the automatic lightintensity adjustment unit is disabled and not used in an anterior ocularmode that consists of the anterior ocular observation mode and theanterior ocular photographing mode is described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for photographing by the fundus camera accordingto the first embodiment.

In Step S1, which of the anterior ocular photographing and the fundusphotographing of the eye to be inspected is to be performed is selected,that is, which of the anterior ocular mode and the fundus mode is to beexecuted is selected.

In the beginning, an action when the fundus photographing is performedis described.

In Step S2, it is judged whether or not the anterior ocular observinglens 3 is inserted onto the 3 is not inserted onto the optical pathL_(H), the processing proceeds to Step S3, in which the anterior ocularobserving lens control unit 18 inserts the anterior ocular observinglens 3, and the mode shifts to the anterior ocular observation mode inthe anterior ocular mode. The components related to the shift of themode, such as the light intensity adjustment control unit 24 and theanterior ocular observing lens control unit 18, work as an anteriorocular observation switching unit together with the light sourceswitching unit, to thereby carry out the switching between the fundusmode and the anterior ocular observation mode.

When the anterior ocular observing lens 3 is inserted, the processingproceeds to Step S4 in synchronization, and the light intensityadjustment control unit 24 disables the photographing white LED lightintensity control unit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensitycontrol unit 21, and the anterior ocular observing infrared LED lightintensity control unit 22.

At the same time, in Step S5, the emission of the observing infrared LED12 is stopped and the emission of the anterior ocular observing infraredLED 6 is started.

In Step S6, in order to image the fundus portion of the eye to beinspected, rough alignment between a center part of the eye to beinspected and the optical axis L_(H) is performed.

In Step S7, it is judged whether or not the rough alignment hassucceeded based on a captured image displayed on the monitor 13. Whenthe rough alignment has failed, Step S6 is repeated without shifting themode.

When the rough alignment has succeeded, the processing proceeds to StepS8, in which the anterior ocular observing lens control unit 18 retreatsthe anterior ocular observing lens 3 from the optical path L_(H), andthe mode shifts to the fundus mode.

At this time, in Step S9, the photographing white LED light intensitycontrol unit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensity control unit21, and the anterior ocular observing infrared LED light intensitycontrol unit 22 are enabled to enter the operating state insynchronization with the movement of the anterior ocular observing lens3. In other words, the light intensity adjustment control unit 24performs switching control from the disabled state to the enabled stateof the light intensity control units as an automatic light intensityadjustment unit.

Further, at the same time, in Step S10, the emission of the anteriorocular observing infrared LED 6 is stopped and the emission of theobserving infrared LED 12 is started.

When the mode shifts to the fundus mode, in Step S11, alignment forfiner positioning is performed while checking the fundus image on themonitor 13.

In Step S12, it is judged whether or not an index to be used in thealignment is greatly displaced. The alignment index is not observed inan acquired image when the rough alignment position is greatly offset.In this case, the processing proceeds to Step S13, in which the anteriorocular observing lens 3 is inserted onto the optical axis L_(H) again,and the mode shifts to the anterior ocular observation mode. In thiscase, as illustrated in Step S4, the photographing white LED lightintensity control unit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensitycontrol unit 21, and the anterior ocular observing infrared LED lightintensity control unit 22 are disabled in synchronization with themovement of the anterior ocular observing lens 3, and the processing isrestarted from rough alignment.

When the index can be confirmed in Step S12, the processing proceeds toStep S14, in which it is judged whether or not photographing is ready.When the photographing is not ready, the processing is restarted fromalignment of Step S11.

When it is judged in Step S14 that the photographing is ready, thephotographing switch 26 is operated.

In Step S15, in response to the operation of the photographing switch 26in Step S14, the photographing white LED 11 is caused to emit light.

In Step S16, in synchronization with an emission timing of thephotographing white LED 11 in Step S15, the photographing is executed bythe photographing unit.

In Step S17, it is judged whether or not to continue the photographing.

In the case of performing continuous photographing, the processingproceeds to Step S18, in which the anterior ocular observing lens isinserted onto the optical path L_(H), and the mode shifts to theanterior ocular observation mode. After that, the processing proceeds toStep S4, in which the photographing white LED light intensity controlunit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensity control unit 21, andthe anterior ocular observing infrared LED light intensity control unit22 are disabled. Further, at the same time, in Step S5, the emission ofthe observing infrared LED is stopped and the emission of the anteriorocular observing infrared LED is started, thus enabling re-photographingfrom rough alignment.

Next, an action when the anterior ocular photographing is performed isdescribed.

In Step S19, the diopter correction lens 4 is inserted onto the opticalpath L_(H), and the mode shifts to the anterior ocular photographingmode. In this case, the diopter correction lens position detection unit19 detects that the diopter correction lens 4 is inserted. Note that, inStep S19, the light source switching unit 28 works as an anterior ocularphotographing switching unit for carrying out the switching of the modefrom the fundus mode to the anterior ocular photographing mode togetherwith the light intensity adjustment control unit 24 and the like.

In synchronization with the detection, in Step S20, the photographingwhite LED light intensity control unit 20, the observing infrared LEDlight intensity control unit 21, and the anterior ocular observinginfrared LED light intensity control unit 22 are disabled. In otherwords, the enabled state is switched to the disabled state.

In response to the switching, in Step S21, the emission of the observinginfrared LED 12 is started.

Further, at the same time, in Step S22, the anterior ocular observinglens 3 is retreated from the optical path L_(H).

When the mode shifts to the anterior ocular photographing mode, in StepS23, alignment is performed to move the optical axis L_(H) to near thecenter of the position of the anterior ocular segment where an inspectorintends to image.

In Step S24, it is judged whether or not the alignment has succeeded.When the alignment has failed, Step S23 is repeated again and alignmentis performed in the anterior ocular photographing mode.

When it is judged that the alignment has succeeded, the photographingswitch 26 is operated.

When the photographing switch is operated, the processing proceeds toStep S25, in which the photographing white LED 11 is caused to emitlight.

In addition, in Step S26, the photographing is executed by thephotographing unit in synchronization with an emission timing of thephotographing white LED 11.

In Step S27, it is judged whether or not to continue the photographing.In the case of performing continuous photographing, re-photographing canbe performed again from alignment.

As described above, the automatic light intensity adjustment function isautomatically disabled at the time of switching to the state ofacquiring the anterior ocular image. Therefore, the light intensity forobservation and photographing of the fundus image is not affected, andhence automatic light intensity adjustment can be performed so that anappropriate light intensity can be obtained in a short period of time.

In other words, when the inspector intends to take a fundus image of theeye to be inspected, the automatic light intensity adjustment functionis not used in the anterior ocular observation mode in which roughalignment is performed but is used only for the fundus image. Thisconfiguration, which uses the automatic light intensity adjustment onlyfor an image close to the image that the inspector intends to take,enables rapid calculation of the light intensity.

Further, in the anterior ocular photographing mode, a light intensitynecessary for the anterior ocular photographing hardly changes, andhence photographing time can be shortened by not using the automaticlight intensity adjustment function.

Second Embodiment

The first embodiment has exemplified the configuration of the funduscamera having the fundus mode, the anterior ocular observation mode, andthe anterior ocular photographing mode, in which the automatic lightintensity adjustment function is disabled at the time of acquiring theanterior ocular image. In this configuration, in the observing andphotographing mode, the anterior ocular observation mode and theanterior ocular photographing mode may be switched by a common member,that is, the same member, so as to configure an anterior ocular modewhich is common to the anterior ocular observation mode and the anteriorocular photographing mode. Therefore, in this embodiment, theconfigurations that work as the anterior ocular observation switchingunit and the anterior ocular photographing switching unit in the firstembodiment are replaced by the control unit 23 and an associatedconfiguration related to the light intensity adjustment as describedabove.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram according to a second embodiment inwhich the present invention is applied to a fundus camera.

In FIG. 3, the components denoted by the same reference symbols as thoseof FIG. 1 are equivalent to the components illustrated in the firstembodiment.

The anterior ocular observing lens 3 and the diopter correction lens 4of the first embodiment, which are disposed to be insertable andretreatable to and from the optical path L_(H) to switch between theanterior ocular observation mode and the anterior ocular photographingmode, are removed. Similarly, the anterior ocular observing lens controlunit 18 and the diopter correction lens position detection unit 19 ofthe first embodiment, which are connected to the control device 23 torespectively control the anterior ocular observing lens 3 and thediopter correction lens 4, are removed from the configuration.

As an alternative to those removed components, the fundus camera of thesecond embodiment includes an auxiliary lens 29 that is disposed so asto be insertable and retreatable to and from the optical path L_(H) andan auxiliary lens control unit 30 that is connected to the controldevice 23 for controlling the auxiliary lens 29.

Next, an action of the fundus camera to which the present invention isapplied when automatic light intensity adjustment is used in the fundusmode while the automatic light intensity adjustment is not used in theanterior ocular mode is described.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for photographing by the fundus camera accordingto the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same reference numerals asthose of FIG. 2 denote the same operations as those illustrated in thefirst embodiment.

In the beginning, a series of flows for fundus photographing isdescribed.

In Step S28, it is judged whether or not the auxiliary lens 29 isinserted onto the optical path L_(H). When it is judged that theauxiliary lens 29 is not inserted onto the optical path L_(H), theprocessing proceeds to Step S29, in which the auxiliary lens controlunit 30 inserts the auxiliary lens 29 onto the optical path L_(H), andthe mode shifts to the anterior ocular mode.

When it is judged in Step S28 that the auxiliary lens 29 is insertedonto the optical path L_(H), the processing proceeds to Step S4 insynchronization, in which the photographing white LED light intensitycontrol unit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensity control unit21, and the anterior ocular observing infrared LED light intensitycontrol unit 22 are disabled.

When it is judged in Step S7 that the rough alignment has succeeded, theprocessing proceeds to Step S30, in which the auxiliary lens controlunit 30 retreats the auxiliary lens 29 from the optical path L_(H), andthe mode shifts to the fundus mode.

In Step S9, in synchronization with the movement of the auxiliary lens29, the photographing white LED light intensity control unit 20, theobserving infrared LED light intensity control unit 21, and the anteriorocular observing infrared LED light intensity control unit 22 areenabled.

In Step S12, when the alignment position greatly offsets and thealignment index is not observed, the processing proceeds to Step S31. InStep S31, the auxiliary lens 29 is inserted onto the optical path L_(H)again, and the mode shifts to the anterior ocular mode. At this time, insynchronization thereto, in Step S4, the photographing white LED lightintensity control unit 20, the observing infrared LED light intensitycontrol unit 21, and the anterior ocular observing infrared LED lightintensity control unit 22 are disabled, and the processing is restartedfrom rough alignment.

When it is judged in Step S17 to perform continuous photographing, theprocessing proceeds to Step S32, in which the auxiliary lens 29 isinserted onto the optical path L_(H), and the mode shifts to theanterior ocular mode. After that, the processing proceeds to Step S4, inwhich the photographing white LED light intensity control unit 20, theobserving infrared LED light intensity control unit 21, and the anteriorocular observing infrared LED light intensity control unit 22 aredisabled.

Next, a series of flows for anterior ocular photographing is described.

In Step S33, the auxiliary lens control unit 30 inserts the auxiliarylens 29 onto the optical path L_(H), and the mode shifts to the anteriorocular mode.

When the auxiliary lens 29 is inserted onto the optical path L_(H) inStep S33, the processing proceeds to Step S20, in which thephotographing white LED light intensity control unit 20, the observinginfrared LED light intensity control unit 21, and the anterior ocularobserving infrared LED light intensity control unit 22 are disabled. InStep S21, the emission of the observing infrared LED 12 is started. Atthe same time, in Step S34, the auxiliary lens 29 is retreated from theoptical path L_(H).

As described above, the same effects as those of the first embodimentcan be realized with the reduced number of necessary components.Therefore, in addition to the shortening of photographing timeexemplified in the first embodiment, cost reduction, simplification ofthe operation, and the like can be realized.

Third Embodiment

The first and second embodiments have exemplified the configuration inwhich the automatic light adjustment function is disabled at the time ofacquiring an anterior ocular image so as to shorten photographing time.In this configuration, by changing the automatic light adjustmentfunction, automatic light adjustment can be performed in a short periodof time. This method is described as a third embodiment of the presentinvention.

The following description exemplifies a fundus camera which isconfigured so that automatic light adjustment is performed in the fundusmode while the automatic light adjustment is not performed in theanterior ocular observation mode, and automatic light intensity areaadjustment is performed in the anterior ocular photographing mode, whichlimits an image signal area used for light intensity calculation to thesclera.

The configuration of the third embodiment of the present invention isthe same as that illustrated in the first embodiment.

In the beginning, the automatic light intensity area adjustment isdescribed. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates the periphery of theanterior ocular segment, including a pupil portion 31, an iris portion32, and a sclera portion 33.

The automatic light adjustment function is a function of measuringreflectance of the eye to be inspected based on an emission intensityand an image signal, calculating appropriate light intensities forobservation and photographing, and causing any one of theabove-mentioned LEDs to emit light at the calculated light intensity. Inthis function, an image signal from the sclera portion 33, which haslittle difference in reflectance between visible light and near-infraredlight among racial groups, is selected from the acquired image signalsto calculate an appropriate light intensity. This corresponds to theautomatic light intensity area adjustment.

Next, an action when the automatic light intensity area adjustment isused in the anterior ocular photographing mode is described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for photographing by the fundus camera accordingto the third embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same reference numerals as thoseof FIG. 2 denote the same operations as those illustrated in the firstembodiment.

When it is judged in Step S19 that the diopter correction lens isinserted onto the optical path L_(H), the processing proceeds to StepS35, in which automatic light intensity area adjustment calculationutilizing the sclera portion of the anterior ocular observed image ofthe eye to be inspected is performed. The automatic light intensity areaadjustment calculation is executed by the light intensity calculationunit 27 as the calculation unit. Then, area calculation is performed,which changes, according to the mode executed by the light intensityadjustment control unit 24, the area of the acquired image signal of thephotographing element 5 to be used for calculation. As a result, thephotographing white LED light intensity control unit 20, the observinginfrared LED light intensity control unit 21, and the anterior ocularobserving infrared LED light intensity control unit 22, each of whichuses the calculated intensity, are enabled.

In response thereto, in Step S36, the observing infrared LED lightintensity control unit 21 starts the emission of the observing infraredLED 12 at the light intensity calculated in the automatic lightintensity area adjustment calculation.

Further, in Step S37, the photographing white LED light intensitycontrol unit 20 starts the emission of the photographing white LED 11 atthe light intensity calculated in the automatic light intensity areaadjustment calculation.

In other words, the above-mentioned calculation switching unitimplements calculation corresponding to all the image signals acquiredby the photographing element in the fundus mode, and implementscalculation by limiting a use range of the image signal to an areasuitable for calculation in the anterior ocular mode. Further, it ispreferred that the suitable area be an image signal corresponding to thesclera portion of the eye to be inspected as described above.

As described above, instead of using the iris portion or the skinportion, which causes a difference in reflected light intensity ofnear-infrared light among racial groups, by using the sclera portion,which has little difference in reflected light intensity among racialgroups, a suitable image of the eye to be inspected with less variationfrom person to person can be obtained. In other words, in the anteriorocular photographing mode, at the time of performing automatic lightintensity calculation using near-infrared light, instead of using animage signal of the iris portion, which has a difference in reflectancebetween visible light and near-infrared light among racial groups, byusing an image signal of the sclera portion, which less changes thereflectance, an appropriate light intensity for photographing can beobtained.

Other Embodiments

Further, the present invention is also implemented by executing thefollowing processing. Specifically, in this processing, software(program) for implementing the functions of the above-mentionedembodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus via a network orvarious kinds of storage medium, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) ofthe system or the apparatus reads and executes the program.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2010-194651, filed Aug. 31, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus, comprising: a determining unit for determining, based on an image signal which is output from a photographing unit, at least one of a light intensity of an observation light source and a light intensity of a photographing light source; an adjustment unit for adjusting, based on the determined light intensity, at least one of a light intensity of the observation light source and a light intensity of the photographing light source; and a control unit for controlling the adjustment unit according to a selection of one of a plurality of modes including at least a fundus mode and an anterior ocular mode.
 13. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the control unit disables the adjustment unit in the anterior ocular mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of an anterior ocular segment of the eye to be inspected, and enables the adjustment unit in the fundus mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of a fundus portion of the eye to be inspected.
 14. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the anterior ocular mode includes (a) an anterior ocular observation mode of observing the anterior ocular segment and (b) an anterior ocular photographing mode of photographing the anterior ocular segment, and wherein the control unit comprises a switching unit for performing one of (a) switching from the fundus mode to the anterior ocular observation mode and (b) switching from the fundus mode to the anterior ocular photographing mode.
 15. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the photographing unit performs observation and photographing of an image of the eye to be inspected by using a photographing element, the photographing element being configured to output the image signal by receiving return light from the eye to be inspected, the return light resulting from at least one of the observation light and the photographing light.
 16. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the adjustment unit comprises a calculation switching unit for switching the calculation according to the mode, and wherein in the anterior ocular mode, the calculation switching unit changes an area of the image signal to be used for the calculation.
 17. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, in the anterior ocular mode, the calculation switching unit performs the calculation by using an area of the image signal corresponding to a sclera portion of the eye to be inspected.
 18. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus, comprising: a determining unit for determining, based on an image signal which is output from a photographing unit, a light intensity of a light source; an adjustment unit for adjusting, in a fundus mode, a light intensity of the light source based on the determined light intensity; and a control unit for controlling, in an anterior ocular mode, the adjustment unit so as to manually adjust the light intensity of the light source.
 19. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the control unit disables the adjustment unit in the anterior ocular mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of an anterior ocular segment of the eye to be inspected, and enables the adjustment unit in the fundus mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of a fundus of an eye to be inspected.
 20. An apparatus for controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising a switching unit for switching from a fundus photographing mode to an anterior ocular observation mode after the fundus of the eye to be inspected is imaged at the light intensity adjusted by the adjustment unit, wherein the control unit disables the adjustment unit according to the switching made by the switching unit.
 21. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: determining, based on an image signal which is output from a photographing unit, a light intensity of a light source; adjusting, in a fundus mode, a light intensity of the light source based on the determined light intensity; and controlling, in an anterior ocular mode, the light intensity so as to manually adjust the light intensity of the light source.
 22. A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of the method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim
 21. 23. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the light intensity adjustment is disabled in the controlling step in the anterior ocular mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of an anterior ocular segment of an eye to be inspected, and wherein the light intensity adjustment is enabled in the fundus mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of a fundus of an eye to be inspected.
 24. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 21, further comprising a step of switching from a fundus photographing mode to an anterior ocular observation mode after a fundus of the eye to be inspected is imaged at the light intensity adjusted by the adjusting step, wherein the adjustment according to the switching made by the switching step is disabled.
 25. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: determining, based on an image signal which is output from a photographing unit, at least one of a light intensity of an observation light source and a light intensity of a photographing light source which generates photographing light; adjusting, based on the determined light intensity, at least one of a light intensity of the observation light source and a light intensity of the photographing light source; and controlling the adjustment of the light intensity according to a selection of one of a plurality of modes including at least a fundus mode and an anterior ocular mode.
 26. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the adjustment of the light intensity is disabled in the anterior ocular mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of an anterior ocular segment of an eye to be inspected, and wherein the adjustment of the light intensity is enabled in the fundus mode of performing at least one of observation and photographing of a fundus portion of the eye to be inspected.
 27. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the anterior ocular mode includes (a) an anterior ocular observation mode of observing the anterior ocular segment and (b) an anterior ocular photographing mode of photographing the anterior ocular segment, and wherein the controlling step comprises a step of performing one of switching from the fundus mode to the anterior ocular observation mode and switching from the fundus mode to the anterior ocular photographing mode.
 28. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 25, wherein observation and photographing of an image of an eye to be inspected is performed by using a photographing element, the photographing element being configured to output the image signal by receiving return light from the eye to be inspected, the return light resulting from at least one of the observation light and the photographing light.
 29. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the adjusting step comprises a step of switching the calculation according to the mode, and wherein in the anterior ocular mode, an area of the image signal to be used for the calculation is switched.
 30. A method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim 29, wherein, in the anterior ocular mode, the calculation by using an area of the image signal corresponding to a sclera portion of the eye to be inspected is performed by the step of switching.
 31. A recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of the method of controlling an ophthalmologic apparatus according to claim
 25. 